The Mungo (Moungo) are an ethnic group of the

Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

. Along with the other coastal peoples, they belong to the Sawa ethnic groups. The Mungo have historically been dominated by the

Duala people The Duala (or Sawa) are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cameroon. The Dualas readily welcomed German and French c ...

, and the two groups share similar cultures, histories, and claims of origin.

History and geography

The Mungo share no singular origin story. Some claim the same history as the Duala and Limba, descending from a man named Mbedi. From a place called Piti (northeast of

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

), Mbedi's sons Ewale and Dibongo migrated south toward the Cameroon coast. while others trace their ancestry to a man named Lokula who migrated east from near Efik territory in modern-day

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The former tradition seems more likely, however, and the Nigerian story possibly indicates that later settlers entered Limba country from Efik territories at some point and assimilated. By the 16th century, the Duala had become the leading traders in Cameroon. The Mungo provided goods and slaves to the Duala in exchange for goods obtained from the Europeans, such as alcohol, gunpowder, guns, mirrors, shoes, textiles, and tools. In 1918, Germany lost

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and her colonies became mandates of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. Great Britain and France split the administration of the Kameruns, partitioning the Cameroonian Littoral. The Mungo were divided in two. The Mungo live along the Mungo River's lower stretch and the creeks that feed it. Their territory straddles the border of the Moungo division of the Littoral Province and the Fako division of the Southwest Province. Fishing is the primary means of subsistence.

Language

The Mungo who speak a dialect of Duala. Duala is part of the Bantu group of the Niger–Congo language family. In addition, individuals who have attended school or lived in an urban centre usually speak a European language. For Littoral Mungo, this is French; for Southwest Mungo, it is

Cameroonian Pidgin English Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole ( wes, Wes Cos, from West Coast), is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok (from 'Cameroon-talk'). It is primarily spoken in the North West and South West English speaking r ...

or standard

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

; and for the Mungo it is one or the other. A growing number of the

Anglophones Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

today grow up with Pidgin as their first tongue.

Arts

The Mungo are regular attendees of the annual Ngondo, a traditional festival of the Sawa peoples. The goal is to communicate with the ancestors and ask them for guidance and protection for the future. The festivities also include armed combat,

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and native canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish , which comes from the Carib '. Description The term 'pirogue' does n ...

races, and traditional

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

.''Guide touristique'' 126.

Classification

The Mungo are Bantu in language and origin. More narrowly, they fall into the Sawa, or the coastal peoples of Cameroon.

Notes

References

* Chrispin, Dr. Pettang, directeur. ''Cameroun: Guide touristique.'' Paris: Les Éditions Wala. * Fanso, V. G. (1989). ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd. * Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Duala
. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 6 June 2006. * Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Pidgin, Cameroon
. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 6 June 2006.

External links

Peuple Sawa
(in French) {{authority control Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Cameroon Indigenous peoples of West Africa